Matthew Stafford trade for Rams-Lions was the ultimate NFL win-win

Even though it happened just three years ago, the NFL has changed so much since 2021 that it might be hard to understand how crazy this was for Matthew Stafford. detroit lions He then demands a trade to a team that gives him a chance to win a Super Bowl. It was an opportunity he felt he would never get with the Lions, and he quickly accomplished that mission. Los Angeles RamsAnd he faces a crossroads again when the teams meet in a wild-card matchup Sunday night.

It seems like an annual tradition now for a quarterback to switch teams in order to try to win a championship, but it was virtually unheard of until Stafford requested a trade. So far, it looks like a rare win-win trade for both teams, but there are roadblocks between the Lions and playoff success, and Detroit is just as likely to be without Stafford as they are without Stafford. The pressure is on to prove that you are good at it. None other than Stafford himself.

Will this trade really be a “win-win” if the Detroit Lions lose this weekend?

unprecedented trade

Quarterbacks had been traded many times before Stafford, and while some later went on to be successful, there were always extenuating circumstances that made it easier for the original team to let go. Like when buccaneers When Steve Young thought he messed up and admitted that the Falcons didn't really want Brett Favre in the first place.

Rarely in the past have quarterbacks been traded after proving themselves for so long and still having years left in their body and arm that could take a team to the Super Bowl. As free agents, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning had injury concerns that scared teams. charger And with the Colts on the verge of re-signing (Philip Rivers was also waiting in the wings in San Diego, and Indianapolis was ushering in the Andrew Luck era), it became easier for these franchise quarterbacks to move to the franchise. Ta.

The Patriots figured Tom Brady would continue to get a discount — or the 43-year-old wouldn't win another Super Bowl — or the GOAT would be in Florida. would not have received a tax break and would not have remained in New England.

But perhaps it was winning a Super Bowl with Manning with the Broncos and Brady with the Bucs that gave Matthew Stafford the confidence to say, “It's not me, it's you,” to the Lions, the only team he's known for 12 years. Maybe it was after seeing that. Brady crawled to help Stafford walk. Stafford walked so Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson and Aaron Rodgers could run.

Terms and conditions

That same month, the Lions hired a GM who had previously spent 20 years with the Rams, and Sean McVay ended the Jared Goff era when he wavered between Jared Goff and John Wolford at the end of the 2020 season. In a twist of fate, a team reluctant to hold on to a new $6 billion stadium, the home of the upcoming Super Bowl, and a first-round pick, benefiting from the near-guaranteed end of , it was the perfect landing spot for Stafford.

Rams general manager Les Snead and his longtime protégé, Lions general manager Brad Holmes, have agreed to a deal that satisfies both clubs.

The Rams sent Goff to the Lions for a 2022 first-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2021 third-round pick.

The Lions sent Matthew Stafford to the Rams.

In hindsight, browns In addition to giving up three first-round picks and a fully guaranteed contract for Watson, the Niners traded two future first-round picks to select Trey Lance, which doesn't seem like a big deal. But trading two first-round picks for a quarterback and expecting the move to win a Super Bowl was unheard of at the time.

The move worked well for the Rams, but will the Lions bring it back to Detroit?

Effect for the Rams

Stafford is now a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, but back then he had never won a playoff game. Is Stafford enough to upgrade Goff (who the team recently signed to a four-year, $140 million extension) and give up two first-round picks for dozens of picks? Some had doubts, and the stakes were much higher for Los Angeles. There are millions of dollars of dead cap space to make swaps, and many people use the word “got away” to describe who won the trade.

The Rams owe $24.7 million in dead cap in 2021 on Goff alone. Combined with Stafford's base salary that year, the team allocated more than $45 million to the quarterback position..

Anything short of winning a Super Bowl, Snead and McVay will be ridiculed for the rest of their careers…but the Rams were did You never know if you're going to win the Super Bowl.

The Los Angeles Rams finished 22nd in scoring, 14th in DVOA, and 11th in total yards in Jared Goff's final season with the team, but in 2021 they finished 7th in scoring, 8th in DVOA, and 11th in total yards. Along with Stafford, he moved up to ninth in yards gained.

With Stafford's addition, the Rams started 7-1 and went on to win five of six games and claim the district title. san francisco 49ers. That advantage proved monumental in the NFC Championship Game.

The passing offense was 16th in net yards per attempt and 26th in touchdowns with Goff in 2020, as Stafford threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns in his first year in McVay's offense. It was ranked 2nd in both categories. And just as Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, who had the most prolific single season in history (1,964 yards) at Stafford in 2012, this quarterback has more catches (145) and yards than Cooper Kupp. (1,947) helped him lead the NFL. He also scored 16 touchdowns and won Offensive Player of the Year.

Kupp averaged 66 yards per game with Goff at quarterback, but that jumped to 114.5 yards per game with Stafford in 2021 and 90.2 yards per game in 2022. Kupp scored 24 touchdowns in his first four seasons with the Rams and then went on to score 22 touchdowns with the Rams. The next two seasons, he missed half of his second year at Stafford. In his first postseason at Stafford, Kupp threw for 478 yards and six touchdowns in four games and won Super Bowl MVP.

Could the Rams have accomplished this with the best version of Jared Goff that McVay has ever had?

Yes, the Rams went to the Super Bowl with Goff in 2018. He threw one touchdown and two interceptions in three playoff games and a 13-3 loss in the Super Bowl.

In Stafford's first playoff game with the Rams, he threw nine touchdowns and three interceptions, making a fourth-quarter comeback in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl, leading Los Angeles to a 23-20 victory over the Bengals.

No matter what happened after that, the Rams won the argument. They won the Super Bowl right after the trade. Despite going 5-12 the following season, which many described as “paying the price” for their aggressive moves, McVay and Stafford were in the midst of the NFC playoffs with an arguably great offense. Came back. Better than the 2021 team. Yahoo!'s Nate Theis Sports World calls it the “most advanced” version of the Rams' offense to date.:

Yes, (the Rams) finished in the upper echelon of NFL offenses in 2023. The Rams' 5.6 yards per play was tied for sixth. dallas cowboys. Their attack success rate of 43.4% was 8th, and their good play was a few points behind the Lions. They ranked fourth in weighted offensive DVOA, three spots higher than the Lions offense.

Saying the Rams got away with it is no better than saying they won the Super Bowl.

What it does for Lions

Not only are true “win-win” trades rare, but there are also examples of even trades where one of the teams wins the Super Bowl and is still considered a win for both parties. is much more difficult to find.That seems to be what we're getting with the Stafford and Goff trade, especially now that people do Jared Goff also confirmed he was part of the deal.

It was speculated that the Rams had to do so. include After acquiring a first-round pick just to get Detroit to agree to a deal, Goff is proving to be more than just a throw-in.he is a top pitcherErm.

Jared Goff's career rebuild got off to a tough start as the Lions went 3-13-1 in his first season and then the Lions were consistently linked with quarterbacks in their final two drafts. I did. But as he spends more time with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Goff continues to develop and has recently appeared to be the most important piece Detroit got back in exchange for Stafford.

Goff is more than a game manager, he's someone you can trust, and the rumors of his firing. Expectations for new lucrative contract extension in 2024. This would be much larger than the fee, which was reportedly so high that the Rams had to give up a first-round pick to get rid of it.

This season, he ranked second in yards, fourth in touchdowns, ninth in passer rating and QBR, and threw the most first down passes in the NFL.

The Lions also won their division for the first time in 30 years and will host their former team as the No. 3 seed in the wild card round. So, at the same time that Stafford surpassed what Goff accomplished in LA, Goff actually surpassed Stafford in Detroit.

draft pick

Two of the Lions' most prominent players resulting from the draft picks acquired in the trade are rookies Jahmil Gibbs and Sam LaPorta. The Rams' 5-12 season ultimately led them to trade the No. 6 overall pick in 2023, which Holmes traded to the Cardinals in exchange for multiple picks. The Lions used Gibbs as their first player. Gibbs finished third in the NFL in yards per carry among running backs and totaled more than 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The next shot went to LaPorta, a rookie tight end who finished fifth in receiving yards and scored 10 touchdowns, tied for fourth in the entire NFL.

Other picks acquired in the trade include::

• WR Jameson Williams, the Lions traded up from 32 (a 2022 first-round pick acquired from Los Angeles) to 12 to select Williams, but injuries and gambling suspensions delayed the start of his career.
• S Ifeetu Melifonwu, the Lions have given him more minutes recently and he just recorded his first two career interceptions in Weeks 16 and 17
• DT Brodrick Martin, another pick the Rams acquired when they traded down in 2023, Martin has been more of a reserve and depth player thus far.

If the Lions only take Goff, LaPorta and Gibbs out of the trade, it's hard to argue that it's nothing more than a big payoff for Stafford, especially since Stafford asked to leave. And while any team would want to add LaPorta and Gibbs to their roster, most teams would take Williams and Goff is at least promoted to half the league, but the Rams would also be happy with Stafford. ing.

It's a rare win-win. However, this wild card game is guaranteed to win or lose.